A Villain Opening Scene [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin begins the story with the villain]]. As it's an EstablishingCharacterMoment, often the villain's first act will be a KickTheDog or MoralEventHorizon crossing moment that serves to show how evil or {{Badass}} he is, and often sets up the situation that the hero then has to resolve.

Common in stories in which [[TheVillainMakesThePlot the villain and the plot are essentially synonymous]].

----!!Examples

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Anime & Manga]]* The first scene of ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'' involves [[BigBad Hayate]] and her [[ArtifactOfDoom Book of Darkness]], [[AntiVillain though villain is used in the loosest sense of the word here]].* Both the manga and the anime of ''Manga/ElfenLied'' begin with the [[{{Gorn}} infamous scene]] of a emaciated naked young woman shuffling through the corridors of an ElaborateUndergroundBase butchering dozens of armed guards by deflecting their bullets and ripping them appart with her telekinetic powers. And then she casually pops the head of a secretary who just happens to come around the corner and uses her corpse as a shield, clearly removing any doubt that she is merely the victim of an evil organization.* A lot of ''Manga/DetectiveConan'' stories open this way as well.* The first episode of ''Anime/DragonBallZ'' opens with Raditz landing on Earth and killing a farmer.* ''Anime/KirbyOfTheStars''** In the North American version (''Kirby: Right Back at Ya!''), the very first episode opens with an immense, evil crimson octopus Demon Beast/monster called Octacon attacking and eating a whole flock of sheep to a Cappy farmer's horror before flying back to King Dedede's castle. This scene actually switched places with the original Japanese opening scene where Kirby is flying through space asleep and eventually comes into orbit over Popstar in the dub.** Also, the episode "Masher 2.0" begins with Knuckle Joe in a battle against a newly-rebuilt Masher 2.0. And not doing too well against it. At least he does well against its helpers, some of Nightmare's kaiju-esque monsters seen in Meta Knight's flashbacks.* ''Manga/OnePiece''** The anime series begins with Alvida and her pirate crew attacking a cruise ship.** The tenth movie opens with [[HeroAntagonist hero antagonists]] Garp and Sengoku looking on grimly and expositing as movie BigBad "Golden Lion" Shiki [[TheWorfEffect worfs]] an entire Buster Call-sized fleet of Navy battleships.* ''Literature/ArashiNoYoruNi'' begins with Giro and his pack of wolves attacking and killing Mei's mother, who tells her son to run away into a nearby forest for his own safety. Just right before she bids her son goodbye and is killed by the wolves, the mother goat attacks Giro and bites off one of his ears.* ''Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie'' begins with Mewtwo destroying the very laboratory he was created in, killing all of the scientists inside, and immediately escaping.* The ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' movie begins with Gasback and his henchman robbing a bank.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]* In ''Fanfic/GoldenDawnLostSunrise'', the prologue is about a villainous cat called "The Watcher", whose mysterious plan involves the murder of a kitten.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]* ''Many'' films in the DisneyAnimatedCanon have such a scene, as Disney abuses this trope.** ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''. Okay, so it actually opens with the Merchant, but straight after it goes to Jafar. ** This is also true for ''Disney/TheHunchbackOfNotreDame'', which opens with Clopin, the narrator, before switching to Judge Claude Frollo arresting some Gypsies.** ''Disney/{{Mulan}}'' opens with Shan-Yu and his army attacking the Great Wall of China. Mulan herself doesn't appear till scene three.** For Disney, this trope goes back to the very beginning. The first proper scene of ''Disney/SnowWhiteAndTheSevenDwarfs'' is of the Queen consulting her MagicMirror.** ''Disney/{{Dinosaur}}'' actually begins with the film's BigBad, [[CarnivoreConfusion the Carnotaurus]] attacking the nest made by Aladar's mother, smashing all but one of the eggs (which was taken away by an Oviraptor, and later on a Pterodactyl, to Lemur Island) and presumably killing his mother.** ''Disney/{{Tangled}}'' begins with the villainess finding the magic flower used by Rapunzel's mother to heal her illness (and later transferring its magic to her daughter's hair), only to have it snatched away by the King to heal his aforementioned wife.** ''Disney/TheLionKing'': Scar is the first character to speak in the film.** ''Disney/TheGreatMouseDetective'' begins with [[Creator/VincentPrice Ratigan's]] lackey Fidget attacking and kidnapping Olivia's father.** Though technically not a villain, ''Disney/AtlantisTheLostEmpire'' was originally going to begin with [[KrakenandLeviathan the Leviathan]] sinking [[HornyVikings a Viking ship]], and causing the Shepherd's Journal to be thrown into the Atlantic Ocean.** ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'': Due to the film beginning with the [[Franchise/DisneyFairies three good fairies]] bestowing [[SupernaturalAid gifts]] upon Aurora while she is a baby, she doesn't get a proper introduction until after Maleficent places the {{curse}} on her.* ''[[WesternAnimation/{{Cars}} Cars 2]]'' begins with Professor Z and his henchcars discussing about their evil plan for world domination and killing an unsuspecting spy car by literally crushing him into a cube, only to run into Finn [=McMissile=], who had just infiltrated their lair.* Rasputin from ''WesternAnimation/{{Anastasia}}''; he even gets his ''VillainSong'' for the cutscene.* The 1986 ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'' opens with Unicron eating an inhabited planet.* ''WesternAnimation/RecessSchoolsOut'' opens with the villians stealing the weather-altering laser.* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' begins with Vector stealing the Pyramid of Giza (though Vector himself doesn't show his face just yet).* ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe2'' begins with El Macho stealing an Antartic base with a giant magnet (though El Macho himself doesn't show his face just yet).* ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda2'' opens with the backstory of Lord Shen and the opening credits come in over scenes of him and his army.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]* Several ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' films start off with either Godzilla or the monster he's going to fight in the films.* The Joker's bank robbery in ''Film/TheDarkKnight''.* Bane's plane hijacking in ''Film/TheDarkKnightRises''.* ''Film/{{Blade}}'' opens with vampires having a rave (with a helpless human dude), which is crashed by the title hero.* ''Film/BladeRunner'': after some SceneryPorn, the first character we see is one of the replicants.* Alfred Hitchcock's ReverseWhodunnit ''Theatre/{{Rope}}'' opens with the two murderers.* ''Film/ShadowOfADoubt'' opens with SerialKiller Uncle Charlie on the run from police.* ''Film/{{Hellraiser}}'' introduces Frank and the Cenobites before the good guys, unfortunate victims of their schemes.* Extreme case: the first scene of ''Film/{{Predator 2}}'' is seen through the predator's point of view.* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'' opens with the bad guys' ship and its infamous "We brake for nobody" plate.* Some of the ''Film/JamesBond'' opening sequences.** ''Film/DrNo'', the first in the series, begins with the murder of secret service agent John Strangways.** ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' appears to begin with Bond, [[spoiler: but it is actually a double, who is killed by Red Grant for a [[NebulousEvilOrganization SPECTRE]] training mission.]]** ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'' and ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' begin with spacecraft (or submarine)-hijacking before cutting to Bond.** ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' opens with people getting murdered (though the cause only appears after the credits).** ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'' focuses on Scaramanga.** ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' also opens with a murder, following a sequence where a spy ship accidentally collides with a mine.** ''Film/LicenceToKill'' blurs the two tropes, mainly focusing on BigBad Franz Sanchez who, unfortunately for him, unintentionally interuppts the wedding on Felix Leiter, which means Bond gets involved.** Inverted in ''Film/GoldenEye'': [[spoiler: Bond is on a mission with 006; about halfway through the film, its is [[TheReveal revealed]] 006 is The BigBad.]] The focus, however, is mostly on Bond. Likewise, in ''Film/DieAnotherDay'', [[spoiler: Colonel Moon is the BigBad Gustav Graves]].* ''Film/FlashGordon'': "Klytus, I'm boooooored."* All three original ''Franchise/StarWars'' films open with a shot of one or more Imperial Star Destroyers (though the Rebel Blockade Runner is seen first in ''Film/ANewHope''). ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'' most closely fulfills this trope with its first scene featuring Darth Vader.* ''Film/DirtyHarry'' begins with the first Scorpio murder. More accurately, it starts with a pretty girl taking a swim in a rooftop pool, then zooms out at length until we see the barrel of a sniper rifle...* ''Film/KungPowEnterTheFist'' starts with a young Master Pain (before he took on the name Betty) killing TheChosenOne's parents.* The prologue of ''Film/GIJoeTheRiseOfCobra'' shows "Destro" [=McCullen=] being arrested and sentenced for sedition against King Louis XIII. The first scene of the movie proper is of Mr. [=McCullen=] presenting his amazing nanomachine warheads to the military.* ''Film/StarTrekTheMotionPicture'' opens with V'Ger * ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' opens with AntiVillain Sybok. * ''Film/StarTrekNemesis'' opens with Shinzon (or, in any case, one of his co-conspirators) wiping-out the Romulan Senate.* ''Film/InglouriousBasterds'' starts up with a meeting between Col. Hans Landa and a dairy farmer. MoralEventHorizon, ahoy!* ''Film/{{Stargate}}'' (the film) opens with Ra abducting his future host and slaves. (We don't see Ra himself, but we do see the host and Ra's ship).* ''Film/HomeSweetHome'' begins with a man offering a beer to a random, stranded stranger. Said stranger is an escaped psychopath named Jay, who strangles the man to death, shoots up with PCP, steals the victim's car, and runs an old lady over. Jay will be our slasher for the rest of the film.* ''Film/AClockworkOrange'' opens with a close-up of a smiling Alex, planning a night of ultra-violence.* For both Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees in ''Film/FreddyVsJason''. The film [[OpeningMonologue opens with a monologue]] by Freddy Krueger. He explains how he came to be, and that the parents of Springwood have stopped him by erasing him from memory. He has found someone (Jason Voorhees) who he will use to instill fear in the town of Springwood once again, which will allow him to come back. This is followed by Jason stalking one of his victims in Camp Crystal Lake in his dreams before Freddy manipulates him in the guise of his mother to go to Springwood.* ''Film/ANightmareOnElmStreet1984'' opens with Freddy Krueger constructing his iconic bladed glove when he was still a human serial killer before transitioning to Tina's first nightmare.* In the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse:** ''Film/IronMan2'' opens with Ivan Vanko watching his father die and then preparing for his revenge against Tony Stark.** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheFirstAvenger'' begins with Red Skull finding and stealing the Tesseract.** ''Film/TheAvengers'' opens with a brief, ominous scene of The Other giving Loki his scepter and musing about how they will TakeOverTheWorld and "The humans? What can they do but burn?"* ''Film/{{Unbreakable}}'' opens with [[spoiler:the origin story and birth of the later supervillain and David's evil mentor Elijah, showing why his fragility devastated his mother and ultimately caused him to became a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds, which is further fleshed out in a later scene between the two.]]* In ''Film/ScannersIITheNewOrder'', long before David is introduced as the hero, the movie opens with Peter Drak walking the streets and screaming at the sky out of mental pain. Then he walks into an arcade hall and destroys it completely, causing a total panic before blowing it up. A nice contrast to the first ''Film/{{Scanners}}'' where the vagrant psychic drifter accidentally does something bad before he's picked up by the organization that wants to recruit him. Except here it's a knowingly evil villain.* The first ''Film/XMen1'' movie begins with a flashback sequence to SelfDemonstrating/{{Magneto}}'s childhood in Auschwitz, where he first discovers his magnetic powers while struggling with a Nazi guard.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Literature]]* Comes up frequently in ''Literature/HarryPotter'':** Although the Dursleys aren't all-out villains like Voldemort and company, ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndThePhilosophersStone Philosopher's Stone]]'' opens with a whole chapter dedicated to Uncle Vernon's day at work, interspersed with occasional references to the magical world we now know and love.** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire Goblet of Fire]]'' opens with a chapter about Voldemort murdering people, albeit from the POV of one of the victims.** ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheHalfBloodPrince Half-Blood Prince]]'' opens with two Death Eaters visiting [[spoiler:Snape]].** And ''[[Literature/HarryPotterAndTheDeathlyHallows Deathly Hallows]]'' opens with Voldemort and his Death Eaters in the Malfoy Manor.** Notably, other than the Prime Minister scene that opens "Half-Blood Prince", the mind-melds with Voldemort, and a few cases of EarlyInstallmentWeirdness in "Philosopher's Stone", these are the only scenes in the series not shown from Harry's point of view.* The ''Literature/ColdfireTrilogy'' by C.S. Friedman begins with a scene with the villain (although it's from the viewpoint of his wife). Also somewhat subverted -- [[spoiler:Tarrant]] is undeniably ''evil'', but he turns out not to be the main villain. [[spoiler:That's Calesta, who isn't introduced until the middle of the book]].* ''Literature/{{Intensity}}'' by Creator/DeanKoontz opens with a scene about the villain, from the villain's point of view.* Ken Follett writes amazing books like ''Literature/TheKeyToRebecca'' and ''Literature/TheEyeOfTheNeedle'' where the villain starts out as the main character, with the readers' sympathies with him, and then the focus and sympathies begin to slowly shift to the hero.* ''Discworld/GuardsGuards'' begins with a scene involving dragons and the villain trying to summon one of them in a ploy to replace Lord Vetinari with a king. [[spoiler:Once the dragon gets summoned, it proceeds to [[EvilIsNotAToy displace said villain's role as the villain]]]].* Many of Creator/RobertEHoward's ''Franchise/ConanTheBarbarian'' stories begin with such a scene:** ''Literature/ThePhoenixOnTheSword'' opens with Ascalante plotting with Thoth-Amon to kill Conan and take the throne.** ''Literature/TheHourOfTheDragon'' starts with the bad guys resurrecting an ancient sorcerer to aid them in their plot to usurp Conan's throne.** ''Literature/AWitchShallBeBorn'' starts with the villain Salome revealing herself to Queen Taramis as her long-lost EvilTwin and then having her imprisoned so that [[FakeKing she can take her place]].** ''Literature/IronShadowsInTheMoon'' starts with poor Olivia being chased down by villain Shah Amurath, just before the latter gets killed by Conan.** ''Literature/RoguesInTheHouse'' begins with Nabonidus, the king's priest and EvilChancellor, informing Murilo that he is marked for death.* ''Literature/TheLastBattle'', the conclusion to ''Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia'', starts with Shift finding the inspiration for his EvilPlan.* ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' takes it a few steps further by devoting the entire first third of the book to SMERSH's machinations.* Each book in ''Literature/TheThrawnTrilogy'' starts off with a scene on an Imperial Star Destroyer, in a ContinuityNod to the original trilogy's openings with shots of a Star Destroyer. Its primary fuction is to establish Thrawn's tactical genius.* ''Literature/TheDeadZone'' begins with the then-unknown Greg Stillson as a salesman at some godforsaken town. He comes across a dog that takes a dislike to him, checks to make sure no-one else is around, and [[KickTheDog kicks the dog to death]].* The prologue of the first book in ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'' introduces the Others, the most obvious villains of the series, killing some RedShirts.* The prologue of the sixth ''Literature/WarriorCats'' book, ''The Darkest Hour'', focuses on BigBad Tigerstar enlisting the help of a cat called [[PsychoForHire Scourge]]. Later books, such as ''Sunset'' and ''Fading Echoes'', show the cats of the [[{{Hell}} Dark Forest]] planning their revenge on the living Clan cats.* The "Project Starscream" arc of ''Literature/GalaxyOfFear'' has each book start with a scene of the BigBad being mysterious. Other books have similar happen with other villains.* Creator/SimonaAhrnstedt followed this trope in her first two novels. In "Íverenskommelser", the prologue is from Edvard's POV. In "Betvingade", the prologue is from Roland's POV.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]* The very first scene of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' featured not Buffy, but Darla. It looks like the guy with her is a creepy predator, but then she eats him. Driving home the whole "helpless blondes in this show aren't actually helpless" thing.* The third season of ''Series/BoardwalkEmpire'' opens with BigBad Gyp Rosetti beating a mechanic to death with a tire iron for [[DisproportionateRetribution implying that Rosetti was ignorant of automotive terminology.]]* Any number of detective shows following the ReverseWhodunnit formula, e.g. ''Series/{{Columbo}}''.* ''Series/StargateSG1'''s first episodes features RedShirt soldiers getting attacked by Jaffas. Apophis' face is seen before Teal'c (and Teal'c is the first main character we get to see).* ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|Reimagined}}'' opens with Number Six molesting the Armistice Officer and a Cylon Basestar destroying Armistice Station.* Of course, the hundreds of episodes of shows with a MonsterOfTheWeek (e.g. ''Series/TheXFiles'', ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'', ''Series/{{Angel}}''), where the entire TheTeaser involves said monster killing or attacking someone, and we don't see any main characters until after the opening credits.* Many episodes of ''Series/UltramanTiga'' have a Villain Opening Scene featuring the current MonsterOfTheWeek.* ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' began with Rita Repulsa and her goons being accidentally released by two astronauts investigating the planetoid her space dumpster was hidden on. She hammily declared her intent to attack the first planet she saw, which happens to be Earth.* Both story arcs of ''Series/DarkSeason'' have one of these as the ColdOpening of the first episode.* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' generally opens with the crime they'll be investigating, villain generally included but not identified.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Puppet shows]]* The first episode of ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' opens with a scene of the Hood monologuing to himself.* ''Film/TheDarkCrystal'' opens with the Skeksis.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Theatre]]* The first scene of ''[[Theatre/TheRingOfTheNibelung Das Rheingold]]'' begins in comedic fashion with the Rhinemaidens playing around and teasing Alberich, but ends with Alberich renouncing love so he can steal the Rhinegold to forge it into the Ring and become the BigBad.* The prologue of the oratorio ''The Golden Legend'' shows Lucifer making unsuccessful attempts to destroy Strasburg Cathedral.[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]* ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' II for the NintendoEntertainmentSystem starts with Ashtar, mastermind of the events of the first game and primary antagonist through most of the second game relaying orders to a subordinate.* "VideoGame/ShounenKinindenTsumuji" begins with the the villain gaining his demonic powers from a meteorite.* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' in a homage to ''Franchise/StarWars'' has a Valuan battleship chasing down the game's MysteriousWaif. The game's first bit of dialogue goes to the admiral piloting said battleship.* ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}} 3'': Hoodlum Havoc opens with a scene of Andre creating an army of Black Lums.* ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime 3'' opens with Dark Samus resurrecting.* The first ''Franchise/TombRaider'' opens with Natla's crash in the desert.* ''VideoGame/MortalKombatDeadlyAlliance'' opens with the title villains teaming up, and then killing the series' BigBad and ChosenOne. Deception opens with those two villains (and Raiden) apparently getting killed by an EvilerThanThou Villain.* ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog''** While the heroes' and villains' viewpoints are separated into their own stories, the earliest chronological scene in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2'' is the start of the Dark story, with Eggman breaking into the GUN base and freeing Shadow.** Dr. Robotnik has one in the spinoff ''VideoGame/DoctorRobotniksMeanBeanMachine'', in which he explains his latest plan to Scratch and Grounder.* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong64'' begins with Donkey Kong's nemesis King K. Rool plotting the destruction of DK Island.* ''VideoGame/DestroyAllHumans 2'' opens with the KGB talking about Crypto and Pox, and then they [[spoiler:blow up the mothership and kill Pox]].* ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' is the perfect example. To introduce the new main villains of the game, the game beging with them appearing from nowhere and shoting your trusty ship from the first game into a burning wreck with the first salvo. You just have enough time to watch your crew abandoning the ship and look out the giant hole in the hull that used to be the command center before they come round for the second attack that completely destroys your ship which disintegrates around you. Floating in the cloud of debris, your space suits starts to leak and you start your trip down to the planet several hundred kilometers below you. You get better, but after that oppoening, you just want to see those bastards dead, without even knowing their name or what they look like.* Dr. Wily has one in ''VideoGame/MegaManPoweredUp'' where he appears on a TV Screen and announces his plans to the world.* Pokey in ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}''. If you played ''VideoGame/EarthBound''/''VideoGame/{{Mother 2}}'' however, you likely knew he would appear here.* In the Updated version of ''VideoGame/PanelDePon'' in the Nintendo Puzzle Collection, Thantos's army is shown mind controlling everyone with a special song. He does this in the first as well, but he is revealed to be an illusion created by Cordelia.* ''VideoGame/{{Onimusha}} 2'' begins with Nobunaga [[DoomedHometown razing Jubei Yagyu's home village]].* ''VideoGame/BaldursGate I'''s intro begins with a [[TinTyrant sinister armoured figure]] choking and killing a defenceless man on a rooftop for unknown reasons. The same man then [[FinalBossPreview shows up at the end of the prologue]], looking for you and killing your foster father and mentor in the process. You then don't see any of him for the next six chapters.* ''VideoGame/DeusEx'''s [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zStn70Ot4r0 famous intro]] involves the BigBad and TheDragon basically discussing the entire plot in a roundabout fashion and outlining the way they're pretty much running the world without actually giving away any direct spoilers about who they are or what they are planning. * ''VideoGame/FurFighters'' opens with General Viggo giving a monologue about the group as the camera pans over their village. He then attacks the village and steals their children and spouses.* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'' opens by depicting Hargon's assault on Moonbrooke Castle.* The opening of ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'' shows Ghetsis crowning the King of Team Plasma.* In the opening cutscene for X's portion of ''VideoGame/MegaManX4'', a cloaked Sigma is having a discussion with the General about the Maverick Hunters, trying to convince him to fight against and destroy them.* ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaRondoOfBlood'' begins with a CorruptChurch headed by Shaft resurrecting Dracula.* [[spoiler:Iris gets one]] in ''VideoGame/RosenkreuzStilette'''s alternate mode, ''Rosenkreuzstilette Grollschwert'', where she kills an unidentified priest ForTheEvulz and has finished [[spoiler:making her plans to have RKS fight against the Empire, also ForTheEvulz]], just before being caught by Grolla. Not only does she attack Grolla with powerful magic, she even pulls a WoundedGazelleGambit on her by pretending she's threatened and crying out for Sichte's help! Realizing that lowering her guard on Sichte's orders could end up making her forfeit her life, she instead retreats to gather her thoughts and reassess the situation.* ''VideoGame/{{Kirby}}''** ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Ultra''*** "Revenge of the King" opens with King Dedede within his castle atop Mt. Dedede, protected from the inside by Spear Waddle Dees and guarded from the outside by Kabula.*** Also, "Revenge of Meta Knight" in both said game as well as the original ''Kirby Super Star'' opens with Meta Knight and his crew preparing to launch the Halberd, as Kirby speeds his way toward it on his Warpstar.** ''VideoGame/Kirby64TheCrystalShards'' gets one as well; it begins with a cloud of Dark Matter attacking and taking over Ripple Star while Ribbon tries to get the fairies' crystal to safety and away from the Dark Matter... only for the Dark Matter scouts Dark Rimuru, Dark Rimura and Dark Rimuro to smash the crystal into dozens of pieces.* ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' starts out with [=LeChuck=] and his captive Elaine near the Rock of Gelato at the very beginning of Chapter 1, all on [[ItWasADarkAndStormyNight a dark and stormy night]].* ''VideoGame/BrainDead13'''s intro starts at Dr. Neurosis' castle, where bats fly and Fritz is summoned by Neurosis to get Lance to fix his computer and then dispose of him so that the villain can succeed in [[TakeOverTheWorld Taking Over the World]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Visual Novels]]* Many ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' cases start with the crime, some of them (mostly the early ones) [[ReverseWhoDunnit clearly depicting the villain]].[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]* ''Webcomic/MagIsa'': [[http://mag-isa.thecomicseries.com/comics/pl/119128 In the prologue of this comic]], we get to see how the demons manipulate people.* ''Webcomic/SluggyFreelance'' does this for the "[[http://www.sluggy.com/daily.php?date=060814 Phoenix Rising]]" arc. Also, the "[[http://72.36.141.236/daily.php?date=081201 bROKEN]]" arc begins with a section titled "Year in the Life of a Villain."[[/folder]]

[[folder:Western Animation]]* The first episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Freakazoid}}'' begins with a news report on Cave Guy, a minor supervillain, wreaking havoc and confounding the police. The narrator then directs our attention to the [[Franchise/{{Batman}} one hero with a chance at stopping him]], adds that he's owned by another network, and settles for a nerdy teenager named Dexter. [[IncomingHam Or is he...?]]* Aku from ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack''. He even narrates the opening credits every week.* The four villains at the start of ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' episode "Meet the Beat-Alls" each plot to destroy the girls before deciding to [[{{Pun}} band]] [[VillainTeamUp together]].* A couple of ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'' episodes open with BigBad Vlad. The most devious one might be "Kindred Spirits" where the opening unfolds his plans to make a perfect clone.* In the opening of the first episode of ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'', we meet the evil nun Sister Thornley, who goes looking for one of the main characters, Otto Osworth, and finds him hiding in the closet reading. Promptly punishing him for this act, he is sent on a never ending chore run until finally being allowed go to bed, getting the chance to meet surprise guests by the names of Buck Tuddrussel and Larry 3000. Setting off the series.* A variant on ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy''. The [[TheTeaser cold openings]] of the first and second seasons would feature [[BigBad Stewie]] [[CartoonishSupervillainy plotting or committing a heinous act of some kind]], though these actions would never actually oppose the other protagonists in any way. * Nearly every episode of ''Challenge of the WesternAnimation/SuperFriends'' opened with a meeting of the Legion of Doom.[[/folder]]